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More online press! A good review for "Best of" AND "Public Library" from HickoryWind.org

Yee haw, more good blogger commentary on my new Best of the 20th Century CD, as well as my previous studio release Public Library. Thanks to Hal and the nice folks at HickoryWind.org for the media coverage, and especially for giving me my first press comparisons to my total songwriting heroes Parthenon Huxley and Nick Lowe! If I must be lumped in with other folks, please lump me with Nick and Parthenon....wow! And it's always nice to be likened to Jonathan Richman...I like to tell people that my name AND my music are kind of a cross between Jonathan Richman and Todd Rundgren, and I guess that's true in both respects.

HickoryWind recently received unsolicited copies of Jonathan Rundman’s “Public Library” and “The Best Of Jonathan Rundman”. They arrived after one of those “I hate my job” days. I wasn’t really in the mood. A short note mentioned that 2004’s “Public Library” was produced by Walter Salas-Humara and accompanied by Drew Glackin and Konrad Meissner (all from The Silos). Smart move! That caught my eye. I slapped it in the cd player and hit play. Not surprisingly there was a nice rockin’ Silos vibe, a power pop twist on several tracks and some unique lyrics dedicated to the fairer sex (“Smart Girls”) and books (“Librarian"). A very nice surprise. My mood-o-meter adjusted, it was time for Jonathan's new disc. “The Best of Jonathan Rundman: 20 Songs from the 20th Century” is a compilation/best of/rarities/retakes/outakes culled primarily from his first four out of print recordings. “Tape” and “Armyman” sound like they could have been bonus tracks from “Public Library”. “Janesville” and “Read The Signs” show a mellower side and “Ask Me In Nebraska” adds some lap steel twangpop.

Jonathan's music and tenor follows in the power pop tradition of Matthew Sweet (see Goodfriends aka Girlfriend demos)/Nick Lowe/Parthenon Huxley/Tommy Keene/ The Silos with a folky acoustic twist. Jonathan’s lyrics occasionally remind me of the heart on his sleeve/simple pleasures songs of Jonathan Richman (no relation!).

The “The Best of..” disc includes a bonus disc “Myopia:cassette recordings 1991-1998”. I’ll listen to it soon but I’m enjoying “Public Library” and “The Best of Jonathan Rundman” too much to move on just yet.